F. Bellagamba

F. Caprino

L. Borella

M. Pazzaglia

M. Vasconi

V. M. Moretti

AIR Universita degli studi di Milano

Chemical composition of caviar from farmed sturgeon: comparison between four different 
species  
 
Laura Borella 1*, Mauro Vasconi 1, Fabio Caprino 1, Federica Bellagamba 1, Mario Pazzaglia 2, 
Vittorio Maria Moretti 1 
 
1Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, University of Milan, Via Trentacoste 2, 
20134 Milan, Italy 
2Agroittica Lombarda S.p.A., Viadana di Calvisano (BS), Italy 
* Corresponding author: laura.borella@unimi.it 
 
Introduction - Caviar is defined as “the product made from fish eggs of the Acipenseridae family by 
treating with food grade salt” (Codex Alimentarius). . In recent years the supplies of wild caviar 
have declined dramatically and have been replaced by aquaculture products. In this study the 
proximate and fatty acid (FA) composition of 23 caviar samples of four sturgeon species (A. baerii, 
A. gueldenstaedtii, A. naccari, A. trasmontanus) were measured and compared with wild caviar data 
available in literature. 
Materials and methods - Moisture, protein and ash content were determined by standard AOAC 
methods (1996), lipid by chloroform/methanol extraction according to Folch et al. (1957). FA 
methyl esters were prepared as described by Christie (1982) and analysed by capillary gas-
chromatography. Statistical analysis were performed by SPSS 22 statistical package.  
Results and discussion - Except the protein content (23.9-25.3%), proximate composition presented 
significant differences among species. The most notable difference was the highest lipid content in 
caviar of A. trasmontanus (18%) and A. gueldenstaedtii (16.9%) which showed also the lowest level 
of moisture (53.9% both). Fluctuations in FA profiles were also observed in the interspecific 
comparison. Palmitic acid was the dominant saturated FA in all samples and its content was 
significantly higher in A. naccari (19.1% of total FAs). Amongst the monounsaturated FAs, the 
most abundant was oleic acid, which was in absolute the major FA of all samples (25.8-32%). 
Regarding to n-6 polyunsaturated FAs, this study revealed a predominance of linoleic acid (LA; 
9.3-14%), followed by arachidonic acid (ARA; 1.8-2.4%). LA and ARA proportions were 
significantly lower in caviar of A. naccarii and A. gueldenstaedtii, respectively. All species showed 
high content of n-3 polyunsaturated FAs, with  docosahexaenoic acid being the dominant (DHA; 
12.1-14%), followed by eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 4.4-6.3%).  
In literature it is well documented that FA composition of caviar is greatly affected by diet 
composition. It was observed that LA concentration was higher in farmed caviar than in wild ones 
whereas the opposite trend was found relative to ARA content. High level of LA in farmed caviar 
could be attributed to the use of commercial feed containing vegetable oils and meals while the 
marine food chain is described to contain significant quantities of ARA. In contrast, EPA and DHA 
content in farmed caviar mirrored that of wild sturgeon. Therefore, it would appear there was a 
selective accumulation of these FAs irrespective of the dietary level. 
Conclusion - This study contributes to the chemical characterization of farmed caviar. Although it is 
well documented that diet composition can modify aquaculture products, it appears that farmed 
caviar maintains the nutritional quality of wild ones. In our study caviar showsd similar amount of 
long-chain n-3 polyunsatured FAs to those reported in literature for wild caviar and these FAs are 
well known to have beneficial effects on human health. This leads us to assert that farmed caviar 
represent an effective alternative to wild products maintaining a good nutritional quality. 
 
Bibliography 
 
[1] Caprino, Moretti, Bellagamba, Turchini, Busetto, Giani, Paleari, Pazzaglia (2008). Anal. Chim. 
Acta 617, 139-147. 
[2] DePeters, Puschner, Taylor, Rodzen (2013). Forensic sci. Int. 229, 128-132. 
  
 
 
 


Chemical composition of caviar from farmed sturgeon: comparison between four different species

https://air.unimi.it/retrieve/handle/2434/282830/404669/CAVIALE%20Abstract%20ASPA.pdf

Chemical composition of caviar from farmed sturgeon: comparison between four different species

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